Page 88 of Knot a Tie
William
“How is she?” I ask quietly when Cameron comes back downstairs.
“She’s fine. Resting,” he replies.
“Good.”
I turn away to head into the kitchen for a bottle of water when James storms down the stairs and declares loudly for everyone to hear, “Richard will not be taking over as prime alpha of this pack. He is staying, but not leading.”
Cameron and I exchange an inadvertent look of relief. I know I had my concerns, but I wasn’t aware that any of the others did. Although, I suppose Cameron is the only other one who would. Spencer and James want their brother back and that’s fair enough. I’m glad that James is staying on as prime. It would throw us totally off balance if Richard wanted to take over.
“Guys!” Rayne calls from the top of the stairs, moments later. “Dad texted back. They have rounded up about fifty loose alphas so far, but Mick isn’t one of them.” She makes it to the bottom, her cheeks flushed and clutching her phone. “Fifty! How many can there be left?”
She is closest to me, so I reach for her and pull her into an embrace that comforts me as much as it does her. Her scent drifts around me, more pungent than it was before. Last night brought us all closer. It is a moment in time that I will cherish.
“I’m sure there’s not too many left,” I murmur, reassuringly. “And they will get Mick.”
She screams and jumps a mile when something hits the window to the side of the front door. It is triple-glazed, so it didn’t break, but I’m assuming that whoever threw the whatever it was, expected it to because there is a roar of frustration outside.
I shove Rayne behind me and catch James’s gaze.
“Don’t go out there!” Rayne cries as we both move forward.
“They won’t,” Spencer says, taking over from me in the comfort department and wrapping his arms around her.
"Give me that omega, and I won’t burn this palace to the ground!” a voice snarls through the door.
“Mick,” Rayne hisses.
“Take her upstairs now,” I say, turning to Spencer.
“William,” James says, his voice calm and quiet. “Please go with Rayne and stay with her.”
I give him a filthy glare, but he steps in closer and lowers his voice. “I know you can defend her with your life if they get in and past us.”
With a grimace, but fully understanding him, I stalk back to Rayne and take her hand, pulling her away from Spencer and up the stairs without a glance back.
“Wait!” she cries. “Wait! What are you going to do?”
“Ring that number your dad sent you,” I say quietly, leading her into her bedroom. I shut the door and lock it. Making sure Rayne is tucked away in her nest, I haul the huge, heavy king-size bed over to the door, ramming it up against it.
I go back to her and crawl into her nest, sliding the door shut behind me.
“Are they going to get in?” she asks, her hands shaking as she tries to dial the phone.
“Nope. The house is locked up tight and clearly, the windows are strong.”
By the light of her phone, I see her eyes shoot to mine. “My window is open,” she whispers.
“I’ll close it. Ring that number.” I shove the door open and stand up, going across to the window that overlooks the street, to see several loose alphas with bats, planks of wood and several other battering instruments.
“Hello?” I hear Rayne’s shaky voice as I quietly close the window and lock it. “This is Rayne Halstead. Jeremy Halstead gave me your number to ring in an emergency…” She gives me an ‘am I doing this right’ gesture when I slide back into the cupboard with her.
I shrug. How should I know?
“Okay,” she says, nodding her head. “Yes, they’re outside.”
I hold my hands up to indicate I counted seven of them.
